Question:
well i finally did it i rip a trailor door off but not by backing. ok lets see if i can explain this. i was backing in to a wide open garage you may have seen them there's a dock but first you have to back down threw the garage first to the dock. so i was back in but i wasn't center so i was a little close on the right side so i needed to pull up and get centered. but i should tell you the chains on the trailor doors were a little longer than normal with one link a little longer. anyway this garage was dark and it was a sunny bright day the sun was behind me so i could really see that much except what i could make out with my head stock out the left side. any way as i pull out of the garage to to get center i guess the wind got between the door and trailor and cause the door to swing out and as i pull out the door got caught the black caution pole (that i refer to those poles you see out side of the the single dock bays or maybe a company that dosen't want trucks draging trailors over thier grass or against the side of buildings.) and off it came onto the ground.
i was scared i was going to get fired for ripping off a trailor door because i had to call safety and tell them and the guy i meet in orintation was said to be a person quick to fire a person for accidents but i call him i told him what happen he just laugh and said next time take it easy or ask someone to spot for u when you back into those garage docks he went on to tell me 2 of our other trucks did the same thing a few days ago and that it's no big deal if no damage to the shippers proptery is done and that we can get the door fixed for free because of a warrenty on the trailors so i messed up and got off easy but man did i learn something new. something should have done in the first place get out and make sure that door wouldn't swing like it did with those long chains.

Answer:
I took two hinges off in one of these type of docks before.
Tighten the chain up and if that is not possible by the links do it with your bailing wire.
Peacekeeper
"He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good dispositions."
- Thomas Jefferson
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Answer:
badman just keep trying it will get better things will happen and just learn from it the first time. seeee yaaaa.
sandpiperx

Answer:
bungee cords
carry some
snug the doors against trailer or use when hardware is missing all together
they also come in handy to keep fuel nozzles in the tank

Answer:
probably everyone where i work has ripped off doors
double docks inside 18 foot wide doors,bays are just inches over 53' long,with swing doors and 8'6" wide trailers it is tight,you have to kick the nose of the trailers behind the pillers to get the other trailer in or out.
I was supervised the first few times by the yard guy and the rest of the loading crew probably had bets on the deal

Answer:
ripped one off a few months ago first time in 20+ years........... S happens

Answer:
Tankers have to back into bays a lot, you cannot see anything back there when the sun is up. You'll need someone standing near the door to back you in. You cannot see them in the rear. If your going it alone, you have to keep getting out of the truck every few inches or couple feet to check. Then use your memory. TIP: If you ever have to move your truck a couple of inches, open the door and look straight down at the ground and measure that way.

Answer:
It happened to me about 5-6 yrs ago at the Wilson Trlr Company, in Sioux City,Ia.
The 1st Time I went there I KNICKED my passenger Mirror.
The 2nd Time in there I Bent the trlr door.(b/c I was so busy keeping an eye out for my Mirror.)
The 3rd Time in there I was Not Centered & I had to pull up to get straight....as I was pulling up; the passenger, trlr door got caught on a shelf they had on the inside of the garage & Off it came.
The safety director laughed & said that there had been many drvrs that have had probs with that place.
It didn't take long for them to make it a Drop-n-Hook at that location.

Answer:
the root of all evil, dont feel bad happened only once also. do your self a favor and thropw a couple of bungee straps in your truck and if it every happens again use them to hold the door back. they will do the job.

Answer:
When backing into a dark area as some of the older loading docks seem to be famous for, place your flashlight {on of course} at the very edge of the dock bumper, plate, ect, where you need to have the drivers side of the trailer meet the dock. Put your marker lights on, it helps alot if you have one on the very corner of the trailer. Back up slowly lining up both lights adjusting an inch or two to compensate for the doors, keep in mind that due to the insulation in them, doors on reefer trailers are thicker than those on a dry van.
I have used this technique many times when I was in a pinch with noone to spot me. If the other drivers dont see what you did it makes you look like a driving genius! Nice to show up the guys once in a while.
JF
"Those who say the most often have the least to say"

Answer:
Good thread.
I have never done this before---but my career is not over yet.
Think I'll bring this thread back to the front page for further veiwing by our new newbies and wannabes.
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Cover Your Cans People!!!It's apparent this place is never going to change....then again; why should it? It gets the clientel it deserves.
Bette Midler

Answer:
Never taken a door off - yet. So far my only dock damages have been a mirror, and knocked a marker light off of an old flatbed.

Answer:
Did that once myself, in a very narrow dock. Pulled up to try to get the trailer square with the dock, but didn't allow for the 3-4 inches width the open doors added. Bent the hinges enough that the door wouldn't close all the way. Tied it up and took it to a shop, where they had to take it off and beat the hinges straight. What a pain.
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Answer:
I hate those things. Even at night they are a pain in the azz and in the day light damn near impossible.
If a driver has never clipped a trailer door while backing in or pulling out of one of those garage docks it is either they don't go in them or the law of averages just havent caught up with them yet.
What is so aggravating with these docks (and any dock period) is that a lot of these problems could be greatly reduced if the warehouse owners would just paint some guidelines on the ground.
Don't feel too bad there badman. While I have never ripped a door off I have ripped the insulation off a door once and another time flooded one of those docks when I hit a shut off valve some genius had hung from the cieling 6-8 inches from where the trailer sits when properly backed in.
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
Answer:
That was a great ideal about using the mag light. Just hope no-one walks by the dock and steals it while your backing in.